The present disclosure relates generally to medical devices and, more particularly, to airway devices, such as tracheal tubes.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Endotracheal tubes are often placed in the airway of a patient in medical situations that necessitate protection of the airway from possible obstruction or occlusion. For instance, tracheal tubes may be used in emergency situations, such as when a patient experiences cardiac or respiratory arrest. Such intubations increase a patient's risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to bacterial colonization of the lower respiratory airways. In healthy individuals, mucociliary clearance removes particles and microorganisms, which helps prevent respiratory infection. However, in critically ill patients, clearance mechanisms are compromised due to tracheal tube cuff inflation, and mucus accumulates at the distal end of the tracheal tube below the cuff. In many instances, such critically ill patients may remain intubated for extensive periods of time, during which mucus accumulated at the bottom of the cuff may drop to the proximal trachea and ultimately infect the lungs.
In many instances, it may be desirable to manage the accumulation of mucus secretions around the cuff via removal through external suctioning, administration of antibiotics, or a combination thereof. Some endotracheal tubes exclusively target mucus secretions accumulated in the area above the cuff. However, these systems fail to adequately address the accumulation of mucus secretions below the cuff. Additionally, traditional designs often include further drawbacks, such as requirements for the assembly and addition of supplementary parts that are not integral to the tracheal tube.